Heroes:
Motorcyclist dies from injuries
Mon Jun 11, 2007, 12:28 AM EDT
----------------------------------------------------------- Northbridge - A 24-year-old Northbridge man died yesterday morning, a little more than a week after he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed on Providence Road.Justin Parnell had been in the intensive care unit at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester since June 2.Michael Parnell described his son as an outgoing, popular guy who loved being outdoors and hanging out with friends."He had a really close group of friends in Northbridge and Uxbridge," said Michael Parnell, 53. "He was outdoors all the time. He was very outgoing. He had more friends than you could shake a stick at."Jason Parnell said his younger brother never regained consciousness after the accident. In the last several days, friends had come from around the world, said Michael Parnell."One of his friends who is in the service flew here from Germany," said Parnell. "He just got here Friday. That's the kind of friends he had."Shane Gordon, 23, said he had known Parnell for 18 years and will remember him as a guy whose perfect day off was spent working on cars or trucks."He'd be wearing crappy, ratty clothes, working on cars, four-wheelers, trucks, anything that would get him greasy," said Gordon.Friends and family remembered Parnell as a dedicated friend, who would do anything to help others."He was like a big brother for me," said Gordon. "He was a friend everyone would want to have."Said 23-year-old Greg Amaral, who attended high school with Parnell, "He was there for his friends. He was one of those guys who whenever he saw you upset would say, 'OK, who do I have to beat up?' "Parnell said his son was also dedicated to helping those less fortunate and once convinced his elementary school teacher to bring a huge contingent of third- and fourth-graders to help plant food for The Community Harvest Project, which provides fresh food for needy people in and around Worcester."He found an article in the paper, cut it out, and brought it to his teacher," said Michael Parnell, a farm manager for Community Harvest. "We had 140 kids up here planting vegetables for a class trip."Justin Parnell, who graduated from Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical School in 2000, studied engineering at Wentworth Institute for Technology and planned a career in construction, his father said.One of three children, Justin Parnell also had a sister, Kristi Baldini of Ashland. His mother, Lillian Parnell, lives in Eastham.Jason Parnell said he and Justin's friends will finish a 1979 Chevy full-size truck they had been working on together."I wouldn't give that truck away for anything," said Parnell. "You could offer me $10 million and I'd say no."Michael Parnell, who lives in Hopkinton, said his son was born in Framingham and raised in Northbridge. He always had an interest in bikes and motorcycles."He actually just came back from the bike week in Myrtle Beach, (S.C.)," said Parnell.Justin Parnell had been working at Kennedy Land Clearing Inc. as a heavy equipment operator, Michael Parnell said.Police said Parnell was driving his motorcycle north on Providence Road in Northbridge, near Linwood Avenue, when he lost control on a slight turn and crashed into a utility pole.He was taken by emergency helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition in intensive care for a little more than a week.Parnell's funeral will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick's Church on Cross Street in Whitinsville. He will be buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery.Calling hours are Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Jackman Funeral Home in Whitinsville.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to UMass Memorial Healthcare, 2 Lakeside, Trauma ICU, 55 Lake Ave., North Worcester, MA, 01655; or to the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts, 30 Lyman St., Suite 10, Westborough, MA, 01581.
